East Van mom’s FortisBC bill covered after $13,000 scare

An East Vancouver mother says the total amount she now owes FortisBC is zero after she received a $13,000 bill earlier this month.

That’s even less than what she was expecting after CityNews followed up with the utility provider last week when the woman reached out to share her story.

“Now instead of backdating for three years – they’re going to backdate it six months, from the time of contact, which was, they contacted me March 7th,” Jade Samson told CityNews on March 13.

But now, she won’t even have to worry about that amount.

“They contacted me and told me that I didn’t owe them anything. I went from owing over $13,000 to no dollars,” Samson told CityNews Monday, March 20.

“It’s taken a lot of stress off of my shoulders, that’s for sure. I’m just glad that they kind of realized that they made the mistake and it wasn’t on me to try to repair it.”

FortisBC says the overdue amount owing for the six-month period was able to be covered by emergency assistance, given her current situation.

It notes it has various programs “specifically designed for income-qualified customers,” telling CityNews in an email that through this program, it works with customers “one-on-one to find ways to reduce their energy use.”

The latest update comes after Samson brought her story to CityNews earlier this month, saying she was told she owed $13,864.55 for about three years of natural gas usage. She was told the total amount owing was due at the end of March.

“I dropped my jaw,” she previously said.

Jade Samson was shocked when she saw a $13,000 bill from Fortis BC show up. (CityNews Image)

It was a shock that quickly grew to concern, as the single mother on income assistance was unable to afford the cost.

Samson has lived in her home since 2005. She says the ordeal started after she returned home from giving birth to her son and found her heat had been turned off.

Unable to pay the utility bill, she says she asked her ex-partner to take over the gas account, adding she thought things were taken care of for the years following.

“Three years down the road, I got a phone call last week from Fortis telling me that the heat was disconnected in November 2020 and that I was now responsible for backpay to when the heat was disconnected and I had no idea that the heat was disconnected. I never got a letter. I never got an email. I never got a phone call. Nothing,” Samson said last week.

Related article: East Vancouver woman gets $13,000 gas bill

While she says she’s grateful that her situation has been sorted out, she admits “it’s a scary thought thinking what would have happened” if she didn’t turn to the media to share her story.

“It would not be this kind of outcome for sure, I would have been somehow stuck to pay a really high bill that was not my fault,” she said Monday in a follow-up.

“I was terrified that I was going to be stuck in a house with no heat with my son. This house is a different type of house, it’s cold in here … and all I could think of is if I don’t have $13,000 to pay for a heating bill, I’m going to be having to bundle up me and my three-year-old inside at all times.”

Jade Samson’s young son sits in their family home in East Vancouver. This family received a $13,000 FortisBC utility bill that was then covered after CityNews reached out to the provider. (CityNews Image)

She’s happy she can now move on but says this situation has taught her to always be diligent, especially when it comes to bills.

“If you don’t get a bill for something, maybe inquire,” Samson advised.

-With files from Greg Bowman

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify Samson’s remaining six-month bill was covered by emergency assistance.